This coming Friday and Saturday is the Studio Sale at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. I will be there both days, with jewelry only. Here's the official postcard for the event:

Front Back

There is a Facebook promotion for this event (through Nov. 13th) whereby the Cultural Arts Center is giving away ART cash (a couple of certificates to be used like cash) for any purchase at the event. For information about that and a chance to win, visit https://www.facebook.com/columbusculturalartscenter. You can also find out more about the sale and the center on their Facehbook page.

In case you can't read the address on the card above, it is 139 W. Main Street, Columubus, OH 43215. It is across the street (Main St.) from Bicentennial Park, at the corner of W. Main and Second Street. Parking is a bit of a hassle if you're not used to downtown. There are meters all over, and a couple of lots nearby...the one that comes to mind is at the northeast corner of W. Main and Second St., and there's one on of Mound Street just after crossing Front Street (Mound St. runs a block behind (south of) the arts center. Hopefully, parking won't be too bad in the lots because it will be after work hours and court hours (the arts center is not far from the Franklin County Courthouse.) I hope you'll give it a try!

Here's a look at some pieces I'm working on....I hope at least some of them will be finished and ready for the studio sale!

If you want a chance to shop some of my work for holiday gifts (or for yourself) and you can't make it to the sale at the Cultural Arts Center, I will be having an open house on Sat., Dec. 6th, but that information only goes out to my emailing list. So, if you're not on my emailing list, and you would like to come to the open house, or at least get notice about it, go to the "Contact Me" heading of my website and send me a message that you'd like to be added to my emailing list. I hope you will, as it would be great to see you at either event (or both!)

So here are a couple of things I've been working on. This a riveted ring with stamped paw prints. Here it has been stamped and the holes for riveting have been made, and that is the rivet there on the left that I'm going to use.

Here it has been riveted and shaped on the mandrel.

The patina has been added to the paw prints in this picture, and it's back on the mandrel for a few more taps for shaping.

A little polishing and now it's ready to go!

All of these little charms are going to get their own bracelets in the very near future. First, they will go for a spin in the tumbler.

This little guy is also on my workbench. It's a tiny clay doxy. He's kind of an experiment right now....My ultimate plan for him is to embed him in resin, then set him in silver. Probabaly for a pendant. He is made of clay (by me), and air-dried. Then he underwent some sanding and filing to refine the shape. He was surprisingly strong during that process. He is now ready to be painted so that he really looks like a dachshund. I'll keep you updated on how he comes along.....

In my last entry, I said I'd show you some of the projects I'm working on. I thought I'd show you what's happening on my jewelry workbench this week.

I've been working on some cats destined to be pendants. The one with the bird on its back is going to a Cat Welfare auction in May to help raise some money for them. The little dogs in the center are going to become earrings. The two discs on the left are going to be made into a bead like the one above the discs. You probably can't tell in the photo, but the bead has tiny paw prints stamped on it and it says "dog lover" on it. It will probably hang on a chain for a necklace. All of the pieces are in progress and will be getting further finishing, like sanding and polishing, as there are multiple steps to making every piece of jewelry. I'll take more photos to show you when the pieces here are finished and ready to go out into the world.

This is my disc cutter that I use to make the discs pictured above. Actually, you can see the discs sitting to the left of the cutter. I'm very happy to have a disc cutter, because I originally spent much time sawing the discs out by hand. I still do that sometimes when necessary, but the disc cutter is great. To cut the discs, I insert a piece of silver between the block with the holes in it, then hammer the corresponding round cutting die through the hole, and a perfectly formed disc falls out the bottom. It takes two or three blows of a two-pound brass hammer to cut a disc, and this bothers my dogs. While they are usually snoozing away in my little workroom, they find the hammering too loud and violent. Even Sophie can hear the hammering (that and thunderstorms). She gives me "the look" and then leaves for a quieter spot.

Drilling really tiny holes for the "eyes" in my earrings-to-be. The smaller the drill bit, the easier it breaks, in case you're wondering.

Scrap! I always have a lot of scrap because I use so many tiny pieces in my work. It's almost as if nothing is too small to use eventually, somehow, like the tiny wing of a bird. Even the smallest pieces can be melted into a ball to use for a nose.

So that's what's on my workbench this week. I hope you'll come back for a look at the finished items. In my next post, I'll show you some of what's happening on my drawing table with portraits and such. Have a great weekend!